Businessmen in Mexico denounce extortion and pay with their lives

Minerva Perez Castro, Baja California

The president of the National Chamber of Fishing and Aquaculture Industries (Canainpesca) in Baja California was murdered on July 8 in Ensenada, Baja California, while leaving her company Atenea del Mar.

One day before her murder, the leader of Canainpesca exposed at a public event and before the media of Baja California, the problem of illegal fishing of species such as: lobster, clams and abalone, which are considered of high value in the market, which she assured, had increased without local authorities doing anything about it.

“Illegal fishing reaches the same market as the legal product, but without all the production costs associated with production and a legally constituted company.” The business leader said at the event hours before she was killed, according to a statement from the Latin American Alliance for Sustainable Fisheries (Alpescas), condemning the deadly attack against Pérez,

In these statements and others made previously, the businesswoman also denounced that The fishing sector was a victim of extortion and extortionwhich is why he requested the intervention of the Navy and the National Defense Secretariat to address the situation.

The Alpescas recalled that, after drug trafficking and arms trafficking, Illegal fishing is the third most lucrative illegal activity in the world. An estimated 26 million tons of fish and other marine resources are caught illegally every year to supply a black market worth up to $23 billion, according to the organization.

Raymundo Perez Lopez, Mexico City

In May 2019, Raymundo Pérez López, who was a leader of street vendors and established merchants in the Historic Center of Mexico City, was murdered with at least seven gunshot wounds as he left his home in the Panamericana neighborhood of the Gustavo A. Madero municipality.

According to the investigation, Pérez already had some complaints made before the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office for the collection of floor fees by members of La Unión de Tepitowho asked for large sums of money on a daily basis to allow them to operate.

Through a letter sent to the capital authorities, The merchant leader had requested protection due to threats against him. After learning of the complaint, alleged members of this gang of extortionists retaliated against the businessman.

Juan Saul Paez Gutierrez, Sinaloa

The former advisor to the Chamber of Commerce (Canaco) in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, was found dead with several stab wounds inside his vehicle, which was abandoned in a spot in the Presas del Valle neighborhood.

The death of the businessman, who was the promoter of the “Semana de la Troca”, a highly attended event in Sinaloa, occurred in June 2024 and was confirmed by the business organization.

Investigations by Sinaloa authorities pointed to possible revenge for alleged extortion.